


Finally

by dkmcb01



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: About Time, F/M, Finally, Happy Ending, Love, New Relationship, Transwarp corridor, damage, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:07:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21773443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkmcb01/pseuds/dkmcb01
Summary: This story replaces at least part of Endgame.  Kes and Neelix are still aboard.  C/7 - never happened - never hinted at.  Happy Ending.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Finally

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Star Trek: Voyager fanfic. I cannot remember which fanfic or author I read Kathryn and Chakotay being each other's "Peace" and "Safe" respectively - I have read so many Voyager K/C stories lately - a special thank you to that author.
> 
> As always, I do not own the original story or the characters.

He sat behind her, leaning - tentatively - against a tree, their tree. She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked back for the “okay” - he nodded and then felt her relax against his chest. She drew lazy circles on the top of his hand. He gave his own satisfied sigh as he nuzzled her hair, careful not to mess it up. He knew he would never get tired of her scent. Kathryn and Chakotay had made one last trip to holodeck 2 and their Lake George program.

***

A month ago, they had blasted into the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager had sustained serious damage coming out of the Borg’s transwarp corridor. All decks had reported damage and many of the crew were wounded as Voyager experienced a power surge. Luck had stayed with them and there were no casualties. The bridge lost several consoles due to the power surge the transwarp corridor had ignited. The first one to go was right behind Chakotay. He had heard the sparks right before the console blew. He pushed Kathryn from the command chair and took the brunt of the blast in the back. Kathryn scrambled to her feet, calling out commands as she checked on Chakotay who was trying to get up.

She knelt next to him...her eyes and hands scanning the injuries that blast had left. The titanium of the console had exploded into shrapnel. His back was shredded and bleeding heavily.

“Stay down for a minute, Chakotay. You’re bleeding quite a bit.” Kathryn said as calmly as she could given the circumstances.

Tuvok came forward with a first aid kit.

“Captain, I can take care of the Commander’s injuries.”

Kathryn nodded.

“Mr. Paris! Status! Mr. Kim - where are we?”

“The engines are offline and we are starting to drift a bit. I am trying to regain control”  
Tom replied quickly.

“You did it Captain! We did it! We are in the Alpha Quadrant! At the edge of it but we are home!” Harry exclaimed excitedly.

Kathryn smiled briefly before remembering Chakotay was injured and Voyager was drifting in space.

She hailed B’Elanna in engineering.

“B’Elanna! How are the engines coming? Can you keep us from drifting? “

“We are on it, Captain! I’ll keep you updated.” she replied quickly.

Reports started coming in from the other decks as well as sickbay.

Chakotay had insisted Tuvok help him off the floor. Tuvok had applied temporary bandages to his back. Chakotay leaned forward his elbows on his knees and tried to slow his breathing.

Kathryn knelt down in front of him.

“Captain, I cannot guarantee those bandages are going to hold for very long.” Tuvok replied.

“Chakotay, let Tuvok take you to sickbay.”

“No. Not until the crew is taken care of first. I’m... “ he replied as he gritted his teeth against the pain. He had moved slightly to get more comfortable but he had only caused a surge of pain. He tried again, “I’m okay, for now. I’m not leaving you.”

Kathryn nodded knowing his stubbornness.

He had told her earlier - before they went through the transwarp corridor that he feared Starfleet’s reaction to their arrival in the Alpha Quadrant. He didn’t know why...he just had a certain amount of trepidation. He had tried to explain what he was feeling but it was hard to describe. He just knew that he had made a promise seven years ago that he would not leave her side. He wasn’t about to break his promise now.

He stayed on the bridge with her for 12 more hours while the crew was treated and Voyager stabilized. He finally let her beam him directly to sickbay. He had lost quite a bit of blood initially and was looking too pale to walk.

As they both materialized in sickbay, she caught him as he stumbled. The Doctor and Kes helped her to lay him face down on the bio-bed. She moved toward his head as the Doctor nagged him about his delay in coming to sickbay. The Doctor’s voice and instructions to Kes faded into the background as she looked at Chakotay. His face was contorted in pain. She started running her hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him. He slowly started to relax.

“I will need to sedate you, Commander. You have a great deal of shrapnel in your back, much of it rather deep.” The Doctor commented as he prepared a hypospray.

“No! Just..a...local.” Chakotay struggled.

“But Commander - it will cause you a great deal of pain for Kes and I to remove the shrapnel without sedation.” The Doctor replied clearly frustrated.

Kathryn knelt down to see his eyes.

“Chakotay, are you sure?” Kathryn almost whispered to him. She would never force him to agree to be sedated or to sedate him without his consent.

“Kathryn...I won’t leave you...I’ll be fine with a local and some pain meds.”

Kathryn nodded and continued running her hand through his hair.

“Doctor...just a local and pain meds for the Commander”

The Doctor nodded to Kes who brought a separate hypospray over for the local anesthesia to numb the areas as they went.

“Ok, Commander...Kes and I are prepared to start removing the shrapnel. Kes will give you a local before we begin at each site. If the pain becomes too much you can always change your mind and I can sedate you.”

Chakotay nodded and closed his eyes...willing himself to focus on Kathryn’s hand in his hair. She was running her fingers through his hair...her attempt to calm him had worked. His heart rate was a bit fast but nothing alarming. He just kept breathing.

Kathryn watched Kes give him the first local beside the largest injury to his back. The Doctor picked up a scalpel and began to dig the jagged piece of console out of his back.

Kathryn wasn’t the squeamish type - she had witnessed plenty of bloody events in the last seven years. But this was different - this was Chakotay. Not just Chakotay her friend and first officer. This was Chakotay her lover, her one and only. She turned away from the Doctor’s surgery and focused on her lover’s face.

She thought back to that late night six months ago. They were both angry at each other - disagreeing on some simple resupply mission. It was such a ridiculous disagreement but it led to a redefinition of the parameters of their relationship. They both had stormed into her quarters determined to finish their argument over coffee - the only thing they seemed to agree on these days. She sat down hard at the dining table while Chakotay replicated black coffee for both of them. She had been slightly surprised by his drink of choice as late as it was. He usually drank tea. But she had noticed the dark circles under his eyes and he seemed more tired than usual. Maybe he thought the extra caffeine would help.

He brought the coffee over, placing a mug in front of her.

He sat down across from her and they just sat in silence for what seemed like a very long time. She cleared her throat to get his attention. He looked up from staring at his coffee. She could see the unshed tears in his eyes. He blinked and they rolled down his cheeks. He didn’t bother to wipe them away. He just sat there letting her see all the emotion he was feeling. Concern washed over her and she reached for his hand. She intertwined her fingers with his,

“What is it? “ she asked quietly

He looked down and then back up. She was so beautiful. She was his everything. He loved her the minute he met her. He didn’t know why or how all those years ago. But he did and her parameters broke his heart. The first few years in the Delta Quadrant he had made peace with her parameters for their relationship. But his peace had slowly been eroding, so slowly he hardly noticed at first. As his peace eroded his heart broke a little bit at a time. Until he didn’t have any hope left.

Chakotay took a deep breath which only served to bring more tears to his eyes.

“I...I can’t...I need...I can’t do this anymore. I have loved you from the moment I met you and I tried to make peace with your parameters and I did for a long time but…I can’t do this anymore...I feel like I’m dying inside. I love you, Kathryn and I need you - all of you.”

Chakotay took his hand back and grabbed the coffee mug. She could see the heartbreak in his eyes. Heartbreak she had caused. He thought she would of rebuffed his confession - citing Starfleet regulations. But she didn’t. She sat there and thought about his words instead of giving her normal knee-jerk reaction. She gulped and fought back her own tears even as they pooled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she blinked.

He waited for her to gather her thoughts. He hadn’t expected much. He didn’t have any hope that she would break the regulations for him.

She hated herself for what she had done to the only man she had ever really loved. She had never told him and now he was sitting across from her and she had broken him with her continuous rejection. She had never told him how she felt. They had danced around this for almost 7 years now.

“I don’t...I don’t deserve your love. Or happiness.” she whispered to him unable to get her voice any louder.

“It’s my fault we are out here. I ordered the destruction of the caretaker.”

Chakotay reached for her hand.

“It’s not your fault. You have punished yourself enough. I have watched you for years deny yourself practically everything good. Even rest and time off and decent meals. I don’t blame you. The crew doesn’t blame you.” he replied as she continued to stare into her now-cold coffee.

“Kathryn. Look at me. Do you love me? I need to know. No matter what. I need to know.”

She looked up. She knew it was time. To admit to herself and to him that she did love him. That she had loved him from the minute she had met him. A love so intense that that all “the love” she had thought she had experienced before was nothing more than infatuation.

“I love you, Chakotay...from the moment I met you. I have always loved you. Every decision I made was with you in mind - even when I never explained my reasons for those decisions. I am so sorry I have rejected you for so long. I was afraid...afraid to love so intensely.”

Kathryn looked back into her coffee - she couldn’t bear to look at him.

He stood up and led her over to the couch in her quarters. They sat there wrapped in each others arms and they cried...for all the lost time, for all the hurt feelings, for what they almost lost and what they found.

They had spent every evening since then getting to know each other.

***

Chakotay’s gasp of pain brought her out of her memories and back into the moment. She started tracing the path of his tattoo and whispering words of love to him. He relaxed a bit as the Doctor and Kes continued.

After six hours of constant work, the Doctor and Kes bandaged the Commander’s back. The smaller injuries were healed with the dermal regenerator. The larger gashes would have to heal on their own - mostly due to the Commander’s refusal to get immediate treatment quickly.

***

That was a month ago, now they were leaning on their tree in holodeck 2 watching the sun go down over Lake George.

Kathryn shifted in his arms. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

“How’s your back? You want to lean forward for awhile?” she asked him as she ran her hand over his cheek.

“Maybe for a bit,” he replied.

Kathryn moved forward a bit so he could move his back away from the tree. She turned to face him, never breaking the almost constant contact she loved so much. She leaned forward and he met her half way for a kiss.

After what seemed like minutes their lips parted and she rested her forehead against his.

“You know...I’m going to miss holodeck 2 Lake George.” he whispered.

“We can go to the real Lake George anytime you want. But I am going to miss it too. This is our Lake George - the one where we got to know each other...where the weather is always perfect.” she replied.

A few meters away, a tuxedo-clad Tom Paris cleared his throat.

“Are you love birds ready? Neelix has everything “timed just right” and I don’t want to face him if we throw his timing off...something about the appetizers getting overcooked?”

Chakotay stood up and offered his hand to Kathryn. Tom handed Chakotay his jacket and they followed Tom to the clearing behind them.

The clearing was ringed in soft ambient cafe lights. The crew was already seated. Chakotay gave Kathryn a quick kiss before following Tom to the front. Kathryn headed to the back where Harry waited to walk her down the aisle. After seven years young Harry had grown into a man. When Kathryn asked him to walk her down the aisle, he was both surprised and honored.

Kathryn looked down the aisle to see Tuvok standing ready to officiate. B’Elanna, her maid of honor was beaming at her. Tom snuck a smile at his wife and then returned to his position as best man.

Even though Chakotay had spent all afternoon with Kathryn in her wedding dress - she still took his breath away as she walked down the aisle with Harry. To him...to marry him. He wiped his eyes quickly as Tom nudged him a bit and smiled.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Kathryn Elizabeth Janeway and Chakotay in matrimony. They have written their own vows” Tuvok announced to the crew.

Chakotay and Kathryn turned to face each other and held hands. She could see love pouring from his eyes, his hands warm in hers.

“There is an ancient Earth legend from the Asian Continent. It says an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance - the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break. Kathryn, from the first moment I met you - when I beamed aboard Voyager - I knew I would move the cosmos to protect you, to make you happy, to ease your burden. I loved you instantly and my love for you grows with each passing day. I promise to never leave your side, to always ease your burden and to love you unconditionally for eternity. You are my peace.”

As Kathryn listened to Chakotay’s vows to her - she felt tears rolling down her face. But they were happy tears, tears of relief and allowing herself to finally let go of the guilt that she had harbored for those seven years in the Delta Quadrant. Happy tears finally accepting his love with everything that she was.

Chakotay reached down and gently wiped the tears from her face.

“Chakotay, you are my safe place and my rock and my soft spot to land when I push myself too far too much. From the first moment I met you - when you beamed aboard Voyager - I knew I loved you and that somehow I had always loved you. All those years I rejected you and my own feelings - I can’t undo that. I can only promise to never leave your side, to love you more every day, to make you smile as much as I can and to love you unconditionally for eternity.”

Kathryn reached up and gently wiped the tears from his face.

“Mr. Paris, do you have the rings?” Tuvok asked.

Tom stepped forward extending his hand and dropped the two platinum wedding rings in Tuvok’s hand.

“Kathryn and Chakotay have chosen to wear wedding rings to signify their commitment to each other.”

Tuvok held out his hand between the two of them.

"I love you.” Chakotay said as he slipped the wedding ring on Kathryn’s finger.

“I love you.” Kathryn said as she slipped the wedding ring on Chakotay’s finger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Chakotay pulled Kathryn to him for a long, gentle kiss as their crew gave them a standing ovation.

***

Together as a crew and a family they had, finally, made it home.


End file.
